Post Reports

On today’s episode of “Post Reports,” we talk about the benefit of hearing birdsongs for our well-being.Read more:Looking to improve your mental health? Pay attention to birds. Two studies published last year in Scientific Reports said that seeing or hearing birds could be good for our mental well-being.Today on “Post Reports,” neuroscientist and Brain Matters columnist Richard Sima explains. 

The Coast Guard said Thursday that the missing submersible suffered a catastrophic loss of pressure that killed all five people onboard. Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about the unregulated industry of deep-sea tourism. Read more:The Coast Guard said Thursday that debris was found near the search area for Titan, OceanGate Expeditions’s lost Titanic submersible. All crew members have died.Post reporter Ben Brasch says that many on shore are wondering whether stricter regulations could have prevented the disaster.Maritime safety regulation experts and experienced mariners say OceanGate Expeditions, the company that operates the vessel, was working in a regulatory gray area when it launched its crewed submersible.Today on the show, we explore why there’s no defined agency that regulates expeditions like these.

Lexie Rizzo took on Starbucks. Now she’s out of a job. Today, a look at the U.S. labor laws that are supposed to protect workers who are organizing unions.Read more:People describe Lexi Rizzo as a “coffee person.” She loves drinking coffee, talking about coffee. And she loved her job at Starbucks. She worked there for nearly eight years, until she got fired in March.Rizzo believes she was fired for being a union organizer. Rizzo joined the unionization efforts in 2021, when her Starbucks became one of the first three stores in the country to successfully unionize. In the past year, judges have ruled that Starbucks violated U.S. labor laws more than 130 times across six states, among the most of any private employer nationwide. The rulings found that Starbucks retaliated against union supporters by surveilling them at work, firing them and promising them improved pay and benefits if they rejected the organizing campaign. Starbucks founder and ex-CEO Howard Schulz has denied any wrongdoing – and remains confident that his company does not need a union for his employees to be happy. Greg Jaffe reports on Rizzo’s case and examines the U.S. labor laws that are supposed to protect workers who are organizing unions.

This week, President Biden will honor Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a state dinner. Today on “Post Reports,” New Delhi bureau chief Gerry Shih explains why Biden is rolling out the red carpet for the controversial world leader.Read more:President Biden will welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House this week with a lavish state dinner, a reception that is rarely offered to world leaders. And especially not to leaders like Modi, who was once denied a visa to the United States because of his human rights record. Today, India is seen as a key global partner for the United States, especially as a counterweight against China. But as Gerry Shih explains, Modi’s visit also comes at a time when India, under Modi’s leadership, is sliding into authoritarianism.

Journey through the messy past and uncertain future of America’s national parks. The Washington Post’s Lillian Cunningham ventures off the marked trail to better understand the most urgent stories playing out in five iconic landscapes today.“Field Trip” is a new podcast series that will transport you to five national parks: Yosemite, Everglades, Glacier, White Sands and Gates of the Arctic. Coming on June 28th.Follow the show wherever you listen. 

Come for the leather kink, stay for the lifesaving health care outreach. Today on “Post Reports,” health reporter Fenit Nirappil embeds on the front lines of preventing the next mpox outbreak at International Mr. Leather in Chicago. Read more:How do you fight a potential outbreak after the health emergency has ended?Chicago has been witnessing early signs of a new mpox outbreak, formerly known as monkeypox. The lesser-known virus emerged last summer, on the heels of the coronavirus pandemic. Panic swept across the U.S. and elsewhere, as leaders declared a global health emergency and scrambled to get out a limited supply of vaccines. Then mpox cases dropped, and the world moved on. Fast-forward to this spring: Several dozen new cases in Chicago might not seem like much, but public health leaders worry this could be the start of a much larger surge if mpox finds an opportunity to take hold, especially amid big summer gatherings. Nationwide, just a third of those deemed most at risk are fully vaccinated. That brings us to International Mr. Leather. It’s a convention that celebrates leather kink. Last year, it was at the center of the mpox outbreak in the U.S. Washington Post health reporter Fenit Nirappil traveled to the convention in Chicago this month to find out: Can public health awareness break through the stigma and virus fatigue? Could this community be at the forefront of stopping a wider mpox outbreak in its tracks?

While people have been watching former president Donald Trump’s second indictment, others in the nation are watching everyday bail hearings. They’re a volunteer army of court watchers, and even Grammy-winning artist Fiona Apple says she is one. Read more:There have been many eyes on the justice system whenever people are arrested or first come in contact with police. But who looks out for people once they enter the justice system? Cue court watchers. They’re a national set of volunteers who watch and take notes of bail proceedings that occur in front of a judge. Later, they debrief about what they saw. Sometimes, what’s observed has led to direct action for the incarcerated. Justice reporter Katie Mettler has been following one court-watch network in Maryland’s Prince George’s County for a while. She shares why Grammy-winning artist Fiona Apple joined the network, how the practice has made an impact, and why the future of court-watching access hangs in limbo. Plus, journey with Lillian Cunningham through the messy past and uncertain future of America’s most awe-inspiring places: the national parks. The “Field Trip” podcast drops June 28.

Today on “Post Reports,” we catch up on the cast of characters in the Trump documents case: from his aide and co-defendant Walt Nauta to special counsel Jack Smith to the Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon.Read more:Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal charges that he broke the law dozens of times by keeping and hiding top-secret documents in his Florida home — the first hearing in a historic court case that could alter the country’s political and legal landscape.Today we have a who’s who of the case — from Trump’s valet and co-defendant Walt Nauta to the Trump-appointed judge, Aileen Cannon, who will play a pivotal role in the trial.

In the midst of other big news last week, you may have missed the surprising Supreme Court decision in support of voting rights in Alabama. Today, we break down the case that redraws Alabama’s congressional map. Read more:It seemed almost predictable that the three liberal justices on the Supreme Court would side with civil rights groups in the latest case on voting rights in Alabama. But when Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Brett Kavanaugh, two conservatives, sided with the liberal justices, it shocked people who watch the court.The case centered on redrawing congressional districts in Alabama. The state wanted to draw the map with just one district favoring Black Democrats. But the Supreme Court decided that two districts favoring Black voters should exist in Alabama.Post reporter Robert Barnes joins guest host Rhonda Colvin with all the details of why this decision is groundbreaking — and what it means for Black voters across the country. 

A much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia is underway. But as Samantha Schmidt reports from the beleaguered city of Kherson, a push for liberation from Russian occupation is just the beginning. Read more:A much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia is underway. There are signs of small gains for Ukrainian troops, but wins will be difficult as a long battle appears ahead. Today on “Post Reports,” foreign correspondent Samantha Schmidt explains what is at stake in this critical moment for the war and what she is seeing on the ground in the heavily contested southern region of Kherson.

Former president Donald Trump has been indicted for a second time. Now, he’s being charged with obstruction and conspiracy in connection with classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate, which could mean years in prison if he’s found guilty. Read more:For the second time in two months, former president Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican frontrunner, has been indicted. As the first former president to face federal criminal charges, Trump has been charged with 37 counts, including illegal retention of government secrets, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. Trump must appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday.  Today on “Post Reports,” national security reporter Devlin Barrett breaks down the charges and what Trump’s legal troubles could mean for 2024.

Today, we break down what’s happening with the Canadian wildfires, the smoke enveloping parts of the United States, and what you can do to protect yourself. Read more:While the United States has grown accustomed to increasingly devastating wildfires ravaging the West Coast, the country is facing a new challenge: intense wildfire smoke hitting the East Coast from fires burning through Canadian forests. This week, the smoke has blanketed the East Coast corridor and is spreading to the Midwest. With the air quality at hazardous levels, we talk to Amudalat Ajasa, a weather and climate reporter for The Washington Post, about how people can protect themselves from breathing wildfire smoke, and whether the changing geography of wildfires could impact clean air initiatives.

How a reclusive heiress’s past in suburban D.C. sparked a true-crime sensation in Brazil — and a national reckoning over modern-day slavery and the status of household servants. Read more:Margarida Bonetti was a mysterious figure in São Paulo, Brazil, for more than two decades. She was often seen walking her dogs (Ebony and Ivory) through the streets of the Higienópolis neighborhood or peeking through the stained-glass windows of her crumbling mansion — her face covered in a layer of white cream. Journalist Chico Felitti couldn’t stop thinking of the woman rattling around her abandoned house, and wanted to know her life’s story. A story that has now become an obsession in Brazil. In the Portuguese-language podcast “A Mulher da Casa Abandonada,” or “The Woman in the Abandoned House,” Chico Felitti tells Margarida Bonetti’s story — from privileged daughter, to expat, to accused criminal and international fugitive. The Post’s Manuel Roig-Franzia dug deeper into Margarida’s past, and in hundreds of pages of court documents discovered some surprising names, such as now-Supreme Court Justice Brett  M. Kavanaugh. Manuel Roig-Franzia walks us through what he learned from Chico Felitti’s podcast and his own investigation into the life of Margarida Bonetti.

We’re more than a year away from the 2024 presidential election and there are already 12 republican candidates. The question, as it’s been since 2016: Can anyone beat Trump? Read more:Michael Scherer is a national political reporter for The Post. He says even though 2024 is a ways away, this is still a pivotal time. Large donors are figuring out who to back and candidates are trying to make themselves stand out in a crowded field. Scherer will tell you all you need to know at this point in the GOP race. Who are the candidates? What are they promising? And is any of it enough to unseat the front-running Trump? 

What happens when the “sideshow characters” of national politics are suddenly thrust onto the main stage? And in a post-Donald Trump Washington, where are they now?Read more:Ben Terris has spent years covering politics via the people on the fringe: operatives who aren’t well known but are key to understanding how Washington works. When a former reality TV show host became president, suddenly some of those political oddballs were running things. Terris’s book, “The Big Break: The Gamblers, Party Animals, and True Believers Trying to Win in Washington While America Loses Its Mind,” details the stories of people such as Sean McElwee, the pollster-turned-political-gambler who fell out of favor in Democratic circles, and Ian Walters, a longtime conservative communications director who broke with his closest friends after they staunchly backed Trump. In today’s episode, Terris recounts the characters he met covering the Trump administration and how they’ve changed the face of power in Washington.

Today, a conversation with Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on how loneliness is posing a profound public health threat in the United States. Read more:Vivek Murthy, surgeon general of the United States, says loneliness is a serious threat to the mental and physical health of the nation. Studies show half of U.S. adults experience loneliness, and the consequences can be devastating; from a greater risk of depression and anxiety, to heart disease, stroke and dementia. In an advisory issued in May, Murthy called for Americans to spend more time with each other, especially in an increasingly divided and digital society. Today, we talk to Murthy about what loneliness looks like in America, how technology is a double-edged sword, and how we can strengthen our social connections with each other.

The United States won’t default on its debt payments, that’s the good news. The bad news? A lot of Democrats and Republicans are unhappy with the agreement that President Biden and House Speaker McCarthy crafted.Yet, both men say the deal represents a win for their respective parties. So, who actually got what they wanted out of this deal? Rachel Siegel joins us to explain. Read more:Here’s what’s in the debt ceiling billThe new SNAP work requirements in the debt bill, explained 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won reelection, beating a challenge from a united opposition movement and cementing his tenure at the country’s helm into a third decade.Read more:Erdogan’s victory affirmed his political survival and his support among loyal supporters, many of them conservative Muslims. Turkey’s overseas allies, including the United States, must now navigate their relationship with Erdogan and his relations with international actors, including Russia. Istanbul bureau chief Kareem Fahim explains what Erdogan’s win means for people in Turkey and globally.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis created an election police unit to crack down on voter fraud. But actual convictions by this unit are rare — and the toll on Florida’s voters is climbing higher.Read more:In its first nine months, the Office of Election Crimes and Security referred hundreds of alleged illegal voting cases to local law enforcement for possible charges — but few resulted in any arrests. Lori Rozsa covers Florida for The Washington Post. She explains why DeSantis wants more money for a department that isn’t bringing in convictions.

“The Little Mermaid” has debuted with Halle Bailey playing the titular character, Ariel. Culture reporter Helena Andrews-Dyer shares why this movie matters to Black girls, especially, and what Disney is doing with its successful intellectual property.Read more:The Washington Post’s culture reporter Helena Andrews-Dyer happens to be a mom of two Black children. That’s part of the reason she was so excited to see “The Little Mermaid,” which debuted recently.But in today’s episode of “Post Reports,” there’s more to unpack about the live-action remake than just how it’s creating a moment for Black representation. Andrews-Dyer and host Elahe Izadi discuss why Disney is, once again, reusing a successful intellectual property.The duo also comes to terms with some of the less-than-progressive statements that the animated version of “The Little Mermaid” has made in the past, and how Disney is trying to right its wrongs.You can also read Post film critic Ann Hornaday’s three-star review of the movie here.

The author of a new biography about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. unravels the story of how one fabricated quote perpetuated a story that King and fellow civil rights leader Malcolm X were antagonists. Read more:When author Jonathan Eig was doing research for his new biography about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., he was digging through archives and libraries, trying to find information about the historic civil rights leader. One day, he was reading the full, unedited transcript of an interview between journalist Alex Haley and King. Eig was familiar with the published version of that interview, which appeared in a 1965 issue of Playboy. But as Eig read the unedited transcript, he was shocked. Haley had taken King’s words out of context and completely fabricated a quote that criticized fellow civil rights leader Malcolm X.Today, Eig breaks down how this quote fueled the public perception that the two leaders were adversaries and explains the truth behind King and Malcolm X’s relationship. 

As the 2024 campaign season approaches, an early favorite to clinch the Republican nomination for president, Ron DeSantis, is starting to lose his shine, just as he is about to officially enter the race.Read more:The 44-year-old governor of Florida became a national name by defending former president Donald Trump. But now they are in a power struggle. DeSantis plans to announce that he is running for president during a Twitter Spaces discussion with Elon Musk Wednesday evening. But the past few months have been challenging for the soon-to-be candidate. Trump has gone on the offensive, attacking DeSantis’s record, and donors are getting nervous. His support of a six-week abortion ban and a feud with Disney are also raising questions about his electability. Reporter Hannah Knowles discusses what we know about Gov. Ron DeSantis, his policies and his political strategy as he enters the race to become president.

Across the life span, the risk of death is higher for men and boys than women and girls. The longevity gap is the greatest it’s been in years. It’s a health crisis that’s largely silent because men are largely silent about their health. Read more:The crisis in men’s health goes beyond men not going to the doctor enough. Men are dying, on average, nearly six years sooner than women — and the numbers for men of color are even worse. Tara Parker-Pope is the editor of The Post’s “Well+Being” section. She joins guest host Chris Velazco to talk about why men are dying sooner than women, and what we can do about it.

Ever since the 2020 election, Arizona election official Bill Gates has struggled with PTSD. He’s one of many election workers who are still coping with the barrage of death threats and harassment they endured in the wake of former president Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. As the country braces for another presidential election cycle, in which Trump is the Republican front-runner, Gates is coming forward with his story about the psychological toll disinformation about the last election has taken on him and other elections officials. Reporter Yvonne Wingett-Sanchez joins us to explain. Read more:Arizona official targeted by election deniers now struggles with PTSD

Today, a story about the uncharted legal territory of a new abortion law, and the consequences for families and doctors who end up in the middle.Read more:Nobody expected Baby Milo to live a long time. The unusual complications in his mother’s pregnancy tested the interpretation of Florida’s new abortion law. Earlier this year, Washington Post reporter Frances Stead Sellers shared the story of Deborah Dorbert, a woman who was carrying a pregnancy to term after being denied an abortion, despite the fetus having a rare fatal condition. Florida’s abortion ban includes an exception for fatal fetal abnormalities, but her doctors told her they could not act as long as the baby’s heart was beating.While that story went viral around the world, Debbie continued to do the best she could to prepare for delivering a child that wouldn’t survive even a few hours.Debbie and her husband Lee named their baby Milo. He lived for 99 minutes. 

A Title 42 border policy has expired. The public health measure allowed the U.S. to turn away many migrants and asylum seekers at the border because of the pandemic. But what does the end of the policy mean for migrants now?Read more:For many migrants hoping to enter the United States, a Title 42 border policy was a big boundary. It was a Donald Trump-era pandemic policy that made it easier for the administration to turn away migrants at the border. The policy expired May 11.On today’s “Post Reports,” immigration reporters Arelis Hernández and Nick Miroff talk about people at the border waiting to cross and the promises President Biden made that have soured.

Today on “Post Reports,” what could happen if the United States government fails to raise the debt limit by the deadline.Read more:Yesterday, President Biden met with congressional leadership to talk about the “X date”; that’s the date after which the Treasury projects the U.S. government would no longer be able to pay its bills. The “X date” is June 1, and if a deal isn’t struck by then, the United States would default on its debt.If the United States were to default, that could mean a variety of catastrophic economic consequences: millions of federal workers furloughed; Social Security and Medicare payments suspended; a stock market collapse; an economic recession.White House economics reporter Jeff Stein explains these “doomsday” scenarios and breaks down what could happen to the U.S. economy, and even the global economy, if a deal isn’t reached.

The Discord leaks keep sending shockwaves globally. This week, the slow drip of intelligence has the world’s attention on Ukraine and the Wagner Group. Also, we’ll learn more about Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old allegedly behind the leaks. Read more: While fighting for Russia in occupied Ukraine, the Wagner Group has taken heavy losses in the devastated city of Bakhmut. According to U.S. intelligence leaked on Discord, the mercenary army’s head, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, appeared to offer Ukrainian intelligence a deal: Withdraw from Bakhmut and we’ll tell you the position of Russian forces. National security reporter Shane Harris explains how the leaks have affected the Ukraine war, and he brings us his latest reporting on Jack Teixeira, the accused leaker, and his disturbing behavior, both on and offline.

A little more than a year ago, Elon Musk made a hostile takeover bid to buy Twitter. Today on “Post Reports,” we look back at a chaotic year for the platform and ask what we can learn from Musk’s handling of the company as he appoints a new CEO.Read more:Twitter has been dramatically transformed under Musk, and few — even among some in the billionaire’s corner — say the changes have been for the better. In recent weeks, government agencies, news organizations and powerful social media influencers have questioned the usefulness of the platform, with some major players publicly abandoning their accounts or telling users that they can’t rely on it for urgent information.Advertisers have fled in droves over Musk’s policy changes and erratic behavior on the site, causing advertising revenue to recently drop by as much as 75 percent, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive internal information. Rounds of layoffs have left Twitter operating with a skeleton staff of 1,500 — an 80 percent reduction — and the platform is so riddled with bugs and glitches that the site goes down for hours at a time. Meanwhile, the company’s valuation has cratered, Musk has said, to less than half the $44 billion he paid when he bought the company roughly six months ago.Along with culture changes, Musk has reinvented the platform in ways that have confused users, who once knew Twitter as a widely admired news aggregator.As Musk appoints a new CEO and steps down, we look back at how he’s managed the company, the changes he’s made to the platform and how his reputation has shifted because of all this. 

Family bloggers share their lives, and their kids’ lives, online. But what happens when those kids grow up? New legislation is aiming to make sure children are protected and compensated if their parents make money off sharing their childhoods. Read more:Mommy bloggers have been around for more than two decades.. They share everything online, from struggles with postpartum depression to the highs and lows of having  toddlers. These blogs have been helpful for parents, but when content is focused on their kids, it can feel like a violation for them.Now, there’s legislation being put forth that might make it possible for children of family vloggers to get paid for their labor. Online culture columnist Taylor Lorenz talks with producer Jordan-Marie Smith about exactly how this might happen, and what to know about sharing any image of a kid on social media.

The potential conflicts of interest keep stacking up for the Supreme Court. Today we break down the recent reports about issues such as luxury vacations gifted to Clarence Thomas and the occupation of John Roberts’s wife. Read more:First, it was revealed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been accepting luxury gifts from a Republican mega-donor. Then, Justice Neal Gorsuch sold his home to a lawyer whose cases appear in front of the Supreme Court. And now, Justice John Roberts is under scrutiny because his wife makes money as a legal recruiter, pairing lawyers up with law firms. In each of these cases, critics say the justices failed to appropriately disclose these financial gains. Journalist Robert Barnes walks us through the details of these conflict-of-interest cases, what the current disclosure requirements entail, and the options legal experts have posed for how to make a more ethical Supreme Court.

A civil jury in New York has found that former president Donald Trump sexually assaulted and defamed the writer E. Jean Carroll. Today on “Post Reports,” we talk about the evidence, the possible political consequences and why this trial happened. Read more:Jurors deliberated for less than three hours before siding with Carroll, awarding her a combined $5 million in damages. She testified during the trial that Trump violently assaulted her in the mid-1990s and inflicted further trauma by ridiculing her when she spoke out, calling her a liar and saying that she wasn’t “his type.”That claim became central in the trial because Trump mistook an old photo of Carroll for a photo of his ex-wife in his deposition. Combined with the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape of Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women, his deposition became key evidence for Carroll’s legal team. At least 17 women have accused Trump of varying degrees of sexual misconduct. Trump has denied every sexual harassment claim against him, but many of his accusers saw themselves in Carroll.Since the verdict, concerns about Trump’s electability have resurfaced within the Republican Party.

The covid public health emergency is ending this week after more than three years. Today on “Post Reports,” health reporter Dan Diamond breaks down what this means for our day-to-day lives and our future pandemic preparedness. Federal vaccine mandates and travel requirements will soon be gone as what’s left of the nation’s pandemic emergency response ends this month. The White House’s covid response team is disbanding, too – all with little to no fanfare.“It feels like slouching across the finish line of a race,” health reporter Dan Diamond tells “Post Reports.” “The overall tenor here is not ‘mission accomplished.’ President Biden's not standing on an aircraft carrier with a banner behind him.” All in all, it’s a confusing moment of hopes and concerns. For millions of people, this period also marks an end to Medicaid coverage they depended on during the pandemic. Covid isn’t the threat it once was back in 2020 – confirmed deaths and cases have dropped in recent months. But the virus also doesn’t appear to be going away, and some disease experts are warning of the possibility of future waves of omicron-like illnesses.  “Covid is something I still think about every day,” Diamond says. “But it doesn't govern my life the way that it did earlier in the pandemic.”Read more:As pandemic experts leave the White House, some worry: what’s next?What the end of the covid public health emergency means for youWhy are we forgetting the pandemic already?WHO declares covid-19 is no longer a global health emergencyCovid is still a leading cause of death as the virus recedes 

While the coronavirus emergency declaration officially ends this week, neuroscientist-turned-science-journalist Richard Sima has been pondering this question: Why are so many of us starting to forget much of the pandemic? The coronavirus pandemic is a historic event that has impacted everyone across the world. And yet, “given the quirks of human memory,” many of us may not remember much about this time, Sima tells “Post Reports.” Today, we dig into the science of why many of our brains may be losing our pandemic memories, and how we can still honor and learn from our experiences. Read more:Science of forgetting: Why we’re already losing our pandemic memoriesWhat the end of the covid public health emergency means for you. 

Is King Charles III a billionaire? Officially, it’s unknown how rich the king is, but what is known is that in addition to receiving a stipend from United Kingdom taxpayers, Charles has created a  lucrative business empire. As the country prepares to celebrate the king’s coronation on Saturday, which is expected to cost the U.K. government tens of millions of dollars, some British residents have expressed  dissatisfaction with the royal family’s wealth and questioned whether the monarchy should remain in 2023. London correspondent Karla Adam joins us today to explain. Read more: How rich is King Charles? Coronation prompts scrutiny of royal wealth.The many details of Coronation Day show the king Charles wants to beKing Charles III built a town from scratch. It embodies his worldview.

Television and movie writers kicked off a strike this week after negotiations between the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood producers went sideways. Today we dig into why writers such as Josh Gondelman are hitting the picket lines.Read more:Late-night shows are on hiatus. Movie scripts might not have anyone to write them. And it’s all because at least 11,000 Writers Guild of America union members started striking this week. Writers are fighting for better pay in the streaming age and protections from the use of artificial intelligence. Reporter Anne Branigin explains the stakes of this massive strike, the first in 15 years. The last time it happened in 2007, Hollywood felt the impact for months, with an estimated $2 billion in losses for the industry. In 2023, the technology might be different, but the demand is similar: financial stability.

A lot of us question how much we can minimize our carbon footprint in our day-to-day lives. Should we go vegan? Recycle more? Or just never fly again? That’s where The Post’s climate coach, Michael Coren, comes to the rescue.In today’s episode, he answers your questions about how to make smart decisions every day that will help the planet.Read more: Why free street parking could be costing you hundreds more in rent.These 4 free apps can help you identify every flower, plant and tree around you.How an engagement bike changed one couple’s life.You’re probably recycling wrong. This quiz will help you sort it out.See how a quick-fix climate solution could also trigger war.

Congress and President Biden have five weeks to strike a deal on raising the debt ceiling, according to a new projection from the Treasury Department. Otherwise, the country will need to brace for an economic catastrophe. The problem? Neither side is willing to compromise. President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have agreed to meet next week, but both have also insisted they are unwilling to negotiate, stoking fears that the government may miss this critical deadline. Tony Romm joins “Post Reports” to explain. Read more:Biden seeks debt ceiling talks, as U.S. faces possible June 1 defaultHere’s what’s in the House GOP bill to raise debt limit, cut spendingWith debt bill adopted, far-right House Republicans ready for fiscal war

Join “Post Reports” on a journey through the Kutupalong mega camp in Bangladesh. It’s home to about a million Rohingya refugees who fled persecution in Myanmar only to face growing militant threats from within the camp. The Kutupalong encampment has become increasingly difficult for visitors to access. Armed guards man the entrance. Documentation to enter is hard to come by. But earlier this year, Rebecca Tan, The Post’s Southeast Asia bureau chief, spent two weeks inside. She discovered deteriorating conditions, frightened refugees with nowhere else to go and a desperation fueling the growth of violent Rohingya groups inside the camps. In today’s episode, Rebecca takes us into the lives of a Rohingya community that much of the world keeps forgetting. And she uncovers the story of one man, Mohammad Ismail, who, despite the dangers of coming forward, has been fighting for his family and for his people’s survival. Read more:The Rohingya fled genocide. Now, violence stalks them as refugees.Aid dwindles for Rohingya refugees as money goes to Ukraine and other crises.Rohingya refugees are braving perilous seas to escape camp desperation.Fire rips through Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh, displacing 12,000.

On today’s bonus episode of “Post Reports,” a conversation between our senior host Martine Powers and the author Curtis Sittenfeld about her new book, “Romantic Comedy.” Read more:This month, Martine spoke with Curtis Sittenfeld in front of a live audience at D.C.’s Sixth & I synagogue, in partnership with Politics & Prose. Learn more about “Romantic Comedy” here.“Who Is Hillary Without Bill?” In her previous book, novelist Curtis Sittenfeld imagines another life for Hillary Rodham.

Today on “Post Reports,” how artificial intelligence can re-create voices that may have otherwise been lost to disease.Read more:When Mark Dyer was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) last year, he started on a difficult checklist. He got his will in order; he got set up to receive Social Security and disability benefits. But of all the things Mark had to do to get ready for life with ALS, there was one thing he found himself putting off: voice- and phrase-banking. These technologies allow people with ALS, who may eventually lose the ability to speak, to communicate using a recorded, synthetic version of their own voice. And artificial intelligence is allowing ALS patients to sound more like themselves. Today on “Post Reports,” we talk to reporter Amanda Morris about the technology that preserves voices that would otherwise be lost to disease. We explore what improvements to this technology mean for the mental health of the patients using synthetic voices.“We often talk about artificial intelligence in a negative way,” Morris says. “But what I thought was interesting about this story is that we look at some of the positive impacts that artificial intelligence is having on people who have different conditions and disabilities. And, sometimes I think it’s nice to tell a good story.” 

After an ongoing medical absence, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is being called on by her colleagues to resign. Today, why Feinstein is in the hot seat and what this moment could mean for the trailblazer’s legacy.Read more:In early March, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was hospitalized with a case of the shingles. Since then, she’s been absent from her job, and her Democratic colleagues have been calling on her to resign. As the tie-breaking vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Feinstein’s absence has stalled President Biden’s judicial nominations from moving forward. Cue the outrage. In a tweet last week, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) publicly called out Feinstein’s refusal to resign as irresponsible at a time when Republican-appointed judges are calling the shots on significant legislation across the country.Congress reporter Liz Goodwin walks us through the Democratic infighting over Feinstein’s absence. We trace the discontent with Feinstein to its partisan origins, discuss wider concerns about her age and mental acuity, and grapple with what this moment could mean for Feinstein’s legacy as a trailblazing female lawmaker.

The Wagner Group is a name that seems to be coming up a lot lately, whether it’s in connection with the war in Ukraine or the fighting in Sudan. Today on “Post Reports,” reporter Greg Miller unpacks the origins of this mercenary network and its growth fueling instability around the world.The Wagner Group operated in the shadows for years, its network of mercenary forces aiding the Russian government in military operations in places such as Ukraine. In the time since, the Wagner Group has expanded and morphed well-beyond Russia’s borders, fueling instability and helping autocrats maintain or challenge power through disinformation campaigns and building up their military.But according to newly leaked U.S. intelligence documents, the Wagner Group is becoming even more “nefarious,” Greg Miller, an international investigative reporter, tells “Post Reports.”“It's actually trying to destabilize parts of Africa so that then it can again back Russia’s preferred and favored candidates,” as it seeks to further gain wealth and resources of its own, Miller explains. Read more: Wagner Group surges in Africa as U.S. influence fades, leak reveals.Russian mercenaries are closely linked with Sudan’s warring generals. What is the Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary outfit in Ukraine? 

Here we go again: President Biden has just announced his 2024 reelection bid. But has his time in the White House actually convinced voters to give him another four years? Or are even his supporters turning “blah” for Biden?   Read more: The video starts out dramatically. Images of the Capitol under attack on Jan. 6, 2021. Grainy footage of a protest on the grounds of the Supreme Court. A musical score to rival a Marvel superhero movie. And then President Biden’s voice, announcing his 2024 campaign: “Freedom. Personal freedom is fundamental to us as Americans. That’s been the work of my first term. To fight for our democracy,” he says, music soaring under the voice-over of the launch video. “This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for reelection.” But as the campaign tries to ratchet up excitement for the president’s reelection bid, the roadblocks to another four years are also mounting. Rising inflation. Stagnant legislative attempts. And, maybe most importantly, an enthusiasm gap from voters — even the people who supported Biden in 2020. White House reporter Tyler Pager joins “Post Reports” to give a snapshot of the country — and a president — in the run-up to 2024.  

The new live-action Barbie movie is highly anticipated … among adults. Today on “Post Reports,” we unpack the business decisions behind Mattel’s move.Read more:Can nostalgia make the Barbie movie a win for Mattel? A few weeks ago, Warner Bros. dropped a full-length trailer for the highly anticipated film from Greta Gerwig and her co-writer and partner Noah Baumbach. Since the trailer dropped, it has gone viral – among young adults – making business reporter Rachel Lerman wonder why a toy-maker is making a movie for grown-ups. Rachel talked to industry analysts and Barbie fans about Mattel’s strategy and what this movie can tell us about the cultural moment we’re in.

Missing people, buried car parts and human remains in Oklahoma: the silent but not so secret influence of white-supremacist prison gangs.Read more:Carol Knight thought she was going to build her dream home in Choctaw, Okla. But when she started renovations, she discovered all kinds of debris buried on her property. Everything from electronics to car parts and motorcycles. Carol had heard rumors that the previous residents weren’t the most upstanding citizens, so she called her friend Jathan Hunt, a private investigator, to check out the area. His dogs found some bones, which they handed over to authorities. But Jathan continued to search for answers about what may have happened at Carol’s property.While Jathan was busy working the case, local, state and federal authorities have been looking into a slew of missing person cases in the area. Which led them to a compound with potential ties to a white-supremacist prison gang, the Universal Aryan Brotherhood. Post reporter Hannah Allam has been following the developments in Oklahoma and tells us what she’s learned about this secretive investigation. 

Disney has planned out the next decade of Marvel and Star Wars films, but are audiences still willing to keep up with all its content, or is fatigue setting in? When Disney bought Star Wars and Marvel for a total $8.05 billion, it made a big bet that audiences would consistently keep up with the interconnected storylines that span movies, television shows and video games. But while the franchises remain relatively successful, there are signs that audiences are starting to feel fatigue. Marvel’s most recent film, “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” was panned, Star Wars fans criticized the most recent trilogy of films, and Disney CEO Bob Iger recently said it may be time for the company to reconsider its investments in the two franchises. David Betancourt, who reports on comic book culture for The Post, joins us to explain. We’ve been nominated for four Webby Awards, including best hosts. If you like the show, please consider voting for us! You can learn more about the Webby Awards and vote for our show here.Read more:How will Marvel Studios bounce back from its wave of bad news?It’s time for Star Wars fans to get excited about movies again

A violent showdown between Sudan’s two most powerful leaders has brought a new level of instability to the region. Today on “Post Reports,” a look at how the country went from hopes of democracy just a few years ago to being on the cusp of civil war. The conflict between the country’s main military and paramilitary leaders – boiled over on Saturday, rocking the country’s capital and catching civilians, aid workers and international residents in the crossfire.  “The scale of the violence and how quickly it broke out caught people by surprise,” Katharine Houreld, The Post’s East Africa bureau chief, tells “Post Reports.” “And that’s meant millions of people have been trapped not just in the capital, but in cities all over Sudan.” Sudan is the third-largest country in Africa, home to 46 million people. For decades, it has faced an uphill battle in its quest for peace and democracy. In 2019, the country’s longtime ruler, Omar al-Bashir, was ousted. An interim joint civilian-military government was formed, with the aim of transitioning to a democracy over time. But in the fall of 2021, the country’s military chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, took over the government in another coup, in an uncomfortable alliance with the paramilitary head, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Now their infighting and escalating violence is raising worries that such volatility could spread throughout the horn of Africa. “There's a lot at stake in this conflict,” Houreld says. Read more:Generals’ war chests have fueled fighting in Sudan. Sudan’s neighbors fear spillover as death toll from clashes nears 200.Civilian toll rises in Sudan as military, rivals fight for control. Veterans of violence, Sudan’s weary doctors brave another crisis.U.S. convoy, aid workers attacked. 

Today, we look at how vague language in antiabortion laws has disrupted the standard of care for a pregnancy complication called PPROM.Read more:Anya Cook wants a baby more than anything. She and her husband, Derick, live in Florida. They experienced a long line of miscarriages. Then last fall, they tried IVF, and they got further in their pregnancy than ever before. Cook found herself shopping for baby clothes and maternity swimsuits. But then her water broke at 16 weeks; this was the beginning of a harrowing medical experience for Cook. Last week, Florida passed a bill that will enact a stricter abortion ban in the state; abortions are only legal through the first six weeks of a pregnancy. The law does have exceptions for fetal anomalies, rape, incest or if the life of the mother is in danger. But while these exceptions seem clear-cut, in reality, the way they are written into the law is vague. Reporter Caroline Kitchener tells us the story of Anya Cook, a woman whose complicated pregnancy got stuck in the gray area of Florida’s abortion ban. 

When Ron DeSantis first ran for governor in Florida in 2018, a campaign ad boasted that he “dealt with terrorists in Guantánamo Bay.” Today on "Post Reports," our reporter digs in on everything we can learn about that time.Read more;Florida governor and potential 2024 candidate Ron DeSantis is in the news a lot. But little is known about his time serving as a Navy lawyer at Guantánamo Bay.Today on “Post Reports,” political investigative reporter Michael Kranish tells us everything he could learn about a pivotal and violent year at the prison, and DeSantis’s role during it.